Professional or DIY?
You might think painting kitchen cupboards yourself will be cheaper than hiring a professional, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Professionals like us use an electric spray painting gun to give kitchen cupboards a factory finish. The cost of this equipment is typically 80% of the cost of our service. You’re talking at least £600 for a spray painting gun like ours.
Brushes, rollers, spray paint cans and other painting methods do not achieve anywhere near the level of finish we achieve with our equipment. So, while you can paint kitchen cupboards yourself for less with brushes, rollers and spray cans, you can’t perform the work to the same standard, and if you wanted to, you’d have to spend several hundred pounds on a spray paint gun.
You also have to factor in our training and competence. Most DIYers have no experience whatsoever with a spray painting gun. It took us years to master our trade. As we like to say, you can’t buy experience or competence. Because of this, painted kitchen cupboards are best left to a professional with the right equipment.
How much does it cost to spray paint kitchen cabinets?
We typically charge £1,000 to £1,500 incl. VAT for a kitchen respray which includes the cupboard facings, drawer facings, side units, and bottom skirt. The project will take up to two days, but most projects are completed in one day.
Here are some average prices per unit:
• £70 per cabinet (facings only)
• £90 per larder and pantry cabinet
• £70 per built-in kitchen appliance facing
On any given kitchen painting project, our service offers savings of 50% compared to replacing the kitchen cabinets, or 80% when replacing the whole kitchen. This is an enormous saving that could be put towards a family holiday.
Painted kitchen cupboards: Hand-painted vs. Spray painted
In our opinion, spray painting is superior to hand painting which is why we only offer this type of service. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the alternative application types - brushes and rollers - give the paint a textured surface appearance and feel. With brushes, the cabinets have brush marks, and with rollers, the cabinets have a lightly bobbled surface. Spray painting provides a smooth and consistent finish that is comparable to a factory finish.
Secondly, spray painting allows us to apply paint in thin, even coats - even thinner than brushing and rolling. This allows the paint to dry faster between coats, which significantly reduces the project time. Also, because the paint is applied consistently, no area will wear prematurely. This is common with brushing and rolling.
Thirdly, spray painting is much better for acrylic and laminated surfaces. Brush or roll painting these surfaces creates significant contact texture. Spray painting creates no contact texture whatsoever. The finish will be smooth and consistent. The same goes for hardwood, softwood and engineered wood. Spray painting is better.
How to spray kitchen cabinets?
The kitchen cabinet spray painting process looks like this:
1. Clean and degrease - using detergent and rubbing alcohol, we thoroughly clean the kitchen cupboards to disinfect and degrease them. Alternatively, the customer may do this work to save a little on their quote, although the work needs to be done with the products we recommend.
2. Masking and covering - the kitchen cabinets will be sprayed in situ so long as there is space to work. If there isn’t, they can be removed by our team and sprayed outdoors if the weather is fine, or in another room. In any case, care is taken to properly mask the cupboards and room and cover areas up.
3. Spray painting - our paints do not need a dedicated primer because they act as the primer on the first coat. Your kitchen cupboards will be painted at the same time, working from one unit to the next. The drying time between coats is around 20 minutes, so we can complete one coat for all your kitchen cabinets in an hour. Your cupboards will need at least 3 coats each.
4. Remove masking - once they are dry, the masking is removed from your cupboards and the finish is inspected. If they need reinstalling, this will be done now. It’s important to note whether your painted kitchen cupboards can be sprayed in situ or not, we aim to complete all projects within 1 day.
5. Follow up - we will follow up with you two weeks after the project to see how you are getting on. This can be by email, phone or in person if you have any issues. You might also be thinking about other things in your home that need painting, in which case we’d be happy to put together a quote.
Is there any downtime with kitchen cabinet painting?
Downtime is minimal. Our paints are touch dry in 20 minutes and your kitchen cabinets will be available for use in 3 hours.
Are painted kitchen cupboards durable?
We stamp our work with a 10-year guarantee which means we expect your kitchen cabinets to look as good as new for at least a decade. We thoroughly tested the paints we use and have mastered our application technique to provide this comprehensive guarantee with confidence. The paint we use is abrasion-resistant and non-marring. It is also highly resistant to chemicals, oils and greases. We expect our paint to last as long as factory paint if not longer, so you can have complete confidence in it.
Is it worth it to repaint kitchen cabinets?
A new kitchen will cost you £2,000 to £4,000 yet having your kitchen cupboards professionally painted will cost you £1,000 to £1,500. The cash savings are enormous so from a financial perspective, it is definitely worth repainting kitchen cabinets.
